Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-07-06
our s TO RUSSIA.
osst OF Living In 81. Petersburg-Ths
Russiau Climate-scandal.

Russian climate-scandal.
Ispent an evening at the Riggs house q
day or so ago. chatting with Gen. Young,
of Georgia, our late consul general to st.
Petersburg; with Col. Way, of Savannah,
who has just been appointed us his sue
cessor. and with Col. Coleman, Of Illinois,
bat now q resident Of this city, who was
Howells' successor as consul to Venice,
where he resided for four years. In
Washington ex-consuls, ex-ministers, ex-
generals and ex-everythings, from sena.
tors to ~doorkeepers, are as thick as black
berries. It seems as il all the people here
had, at one time or another, been upon q
foreign mission, il only to carry shad
eggs to England.
Including salary, fees and everything,
The Office of consul general at st. Peters
burg is not worth more than $3, 500 a
year. The cost of living is as dear there
q in other cities. What with rents and
housekeeping and servants the consul is
lucky IL he squeezes through on all he
can get. The social position of a consul
general ia not a high one. He is regarded
purely as a commercial agent, and has no
relations whatever with the diplomatic
corps of the court. He calls upon the
American minister upon his arrival and
upon the consuls of other nations. After
ward his relations are wholly with the
commercial class, people who have moth
ing to do with and are never admitted to
the governing class. There are less than
o dozen Americans in st. Petersburg, a
fact which requires the consul to learn to
speak Russian if he expects to get IN
with tolerable comfort. Gen. Young
tells me that he made it a point to master
800 Of the most common Russian words,
and with these he was able to hold all
ordinary conversation.
He speaks Of Russia as q glorious coun-
Try, and says it has been more richly en-
dowed by nature than the United States.
Il has sn climates, grows everything that
we do and more besides, and it is full Of
minerals. The Russians think nothing Of
hauling iron ore on sleds 800 miles over the
mow, and manufacturing it into iron at a
profit, a feat which would be deemed i'm
possible in this country. Cold weather
beginssin Russia, in the latitude Of st.
Petersburg, as early as September, but
from May / onward the weather is
charming. Gen. Young says he was
never uncomfortable, Is regards the
weather, while in st. Petersburg, al
though there is often a difference of so
degs. in temperature between the inside
and outside of the house. There are days,
however, when no one ventures out, the
weather being unbearable. Covered or
closed sledges and carriages are used and
these are often heated. But the weather
exerts q strange influence, producing un-
pleasant effects. For three months after
his arrival the general was unable to sleep
more than three or four hours at night.
He said TO me:
Il could not understand why I was SC
sleepless. ] used to get up in the mid.
die Of the night, take a sledge and drive
furiously for a dozen miles, then I would
eat a big dinner and 20 to bed again and
manage 10 get some Sleep"
'How did you find things socially?"
asked.
The mercantile class. with which ]
came in contact, is very hospitable. They
delight to entertain and will often ask
you to dinner, but there is q great deal Of
scandal in St Petersburg. and the peo-
pie, or some Of them at least, are very
fond Of gossiping. ! found that every
servant kept a close watch on me. II /
went out for q drive he was sure to ask
the driver upon my return where he had
taken me, and where I had come from,
and whom ! had seen! This was intoler-
able. ! soon put a stop to that. There
are $4,000 cabs for hire in st. Peters
burg, and by going around the corner I
could find two or three, 80 l stopped TAX
ing q cab at my own door, got q different
one every time, and used to be put down
upon my return q block or two away
from home. By that means my servant
was taught to mind his own business. -
Fuller Walker in Kansas City Journal.